


Close to You

by FuyuShinju



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 20:28:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12660822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuyuShinju/pseuds/FuyuShinju
Summary: "By my hand, people will have lost their lives-even if they did want me dead, did they truly deserve such a fate? Why had all of this happened to begin with? What was Grado’s plan for Renais? Is my brother okay? Will I ever see him again? Will anything ever be the same for us? Will this war end quickly? There were so many questions that had no answers, so many unforeseen possibilities ahead of us..."With her loyal knight Seth by her side, Eirika sets out to find Ephraim and reclaim the kingdom of Renais that was taken so ruthlessly from her.





	Close to You

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my entry for the Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones Anthology! This is the original version I finished, but had to change it due to the romantic implications, so I've decided to post it now! This was a lot of fun to be a part of so I hope you will enjoy my story~! It's been quite a while since I've played SS so if there's some inconsistencies with the story I apologize ; v ;

Seth was always watching over us, ever since I could remember; no matter where we went, he followed, ensuring that we were always safe and out of harm’s way. Not only was he a kindhearted man who thought of putting us before himself, we would always bicker with him to be kinder to himself as well, but I could see it was quite the trying task for him; his duty was to watch over us no matter what, nothing that ever said that he needed to treat himself with that same kindness. As my dear brother and I grew older, the time for picking up weapons came to us, and while he protested greatly that royalty should not be on the front lines, we argued that there might be a time where we need to protect ourselves and being babied won’t help us any, so he began to teach us. 

For the majority of our time, he would be teaching Brother how to use his lance, and every single day he improved quicker and quicker; that was to be expected since Brother was always very intelligent. Since I used a sword, Seth would need to divide his attention between separate sessions for the both of us and while he never complained, I would notice that on some days the work would be much too tiresome for him, so I decided to distract him by asking him to take me to the sea so we could listen to the sound of the waves for a long while. On rare occasions, I would get him to come feel the water with me and when I looked up at his face, I could see that he was truly relaxed, and it made me happy.  
Although days were tough on both my brother and I due to our studies and our training growing more intensive as we grew older, we would always find some way to escape for a little while so our stress levels wouldn’t build up and spill over, whether it was going to spend time playing in the fields, going for a hike in the woods, or even just hiding around the castle and playing games! It was all delightful, even if we were sometimes caught and scolded by Seth. Those days we all spent together were some of the best times of my life, and I had never wanted to forget any of it.

At least, that’s what I had hoped for. 

The siege on the kingdom was hardly anything we could anticipate as Brother had taken a small portion of the army with him to divert the invasion’s attention, however it seemed that Grado had only wanted to separate us, and with our father now deceased, there was no place home where I could stay. I fought with Seth to let me stay in hopes my brother would come back, but as the thundering cloud of troops marching in echoed throughout the chambers, there was no time, and he threw me onto his horse before escaping with me. I fought back my tears of frustration from that day as he held me close to his person, ensuring that I would not fall as we fled my one and only home.  
For what felt like the next few ages or so, we had to break through the borders of Renais, picking off small groups of bandits and those of Grado until we were finally free and had time to breathe. I was trained every day for this very moment so it came naturally, but as pools of blood were shed, one after the other, I was worried that it might not ever end. Thankfully, we finally escaped into the woods, and we trudged deep inside so none others would follow. That first night felt the worst, not because I was sleeping in a foreign place, but because Seth had to stay up to keep watch since I was so restless about a possible ambush. 

_“Please rest, Lady Eirika, I would never allow anything to happen to you. As I have promised you then, I will promise you now: I will guard you with every last breath of life I contain.”_

It was reassuring to have someone like Seth watching over me, but at the same time I felt guilty that I wasn’t as strong as he or my brother was, that I couldn’t do more to help Seth, that I couldn’t let him have a piece of mind after ensuring my safety from Renais… 

It seemed I’d fallen asleep as I woke up with a start, my eyes falling to Seth; he was asleep against a tree, his arms crossed and his head hung in slumber. The morning was still shy, creating a veil of fog on our surroundings, but it was oddly reassuring and calming to me, especially with the sound of a stream babbling in the distance. I stretched out my sore shoulders and carefully stood, keeping Seth’s cloak around my shoulders as I quietly stepped away to allow him to sleep. Slowly, wearily, I followed my ears to the sound of the river, making sure each step was as quiet as I possibly could just in case there might have been someone following us. 

Thankfully, all was silent around me save for the sound of the wildlife and the stream. Splashing my face with the cool water was definitely refreshing, but as I stared at my hands, something deep inside of me began to stir, rising up to my chest, all the way up to my face, blurring my vision, and sending large, hot tears rolling down my cheeks. By my hand, people will have lost their lives-even if they did want me dead, did they truly deserve such a fate? Why had all of this happened to begin with? What was Grado’s plan for Renais? Is my brother okay? Will I ever see him again? Will anything ever be the same for us? Will this war end quickly? There were so many questions that had no answers, so many unforeseen possibilities ahead of us that my vision growing unfocused and blurry once again, my breathing quickened despite how hard I tried to keep it steady, and a sickening feeling began to churn in my stomach, daring to collapse me onto the ground until I felt familiar, strong arms around me, holding me firmly. 

_“Princess Eirika…! Princess Eirika…!!”_

I looked over at the sound of the voice and Seth’s worried eyes were on me, but it didn’t stop the violent shaking of my body, nor the spinning, nor the hot pressure behind my eyes. In my daze, I found myself on my back, my arms above my head, my legs pushed up so my feet were flat on the ground, and Seth kneeling beside me, stroking my hair back and cooing husky, soothing words to me. 

_“Breathe with me, Princess Eirika. In…and out…yes, just like that, very good, my lady.”_

Words like that, over and over, reminding me of the way my brother calmed me when I was upset, began to slow down my breathing and ebb away that sickening knot in my stomach until my vision had finally cleared, and I was able to see his face perfectly. 

_“Seth…”_

_“Are you alright, Princess Eirika?”_

His voice was gentle, quiet-it was rare to see him like this, but I wished I could have seen more of it outside of this circumstance. I nodded, wiping my face off and slowly sitting up. 

_“I-I think I’m okay. Thank you, Seth…”_

I leaned forward and hugged his neck tightly, swallowing back the knot in my throat as he wrapped his arms back around my waist firmly, rubbing my back and soothing me further. Although it was my brother who was usually calming me like this, in his absence Seth provided that comfort for me. 

_“It is alright, my lady. I am here. I will never leave your side.”_

\--

From that day, onward, we began to search for my brother, being joined by many comrades and friends to aid us in our search; I hadn’t wanted any of them to be fighting simply for my sake, but as Seth and my friend Tana have explained: they are here for no other reason than to see my safe return to Renais. As much as possible, we avoided bloodshed, however, as the days grew longer, I could see that the toll on Seth was becoming greater than I anticipated. While watching over him during his own training, I could see that he winces for an ever-so-slight of a second, and while he dismissed me and my concerns, I never allowed him to avoid the subject. 

Despite my efforts, he hid from me his pain, and I could only look on helplessly as he continued charging into groups of enemies to protect me. It was frustrating that he would wall me off, but that didn’t stop me from sending L’Arachel over to him to ensure that his wounds were truly healed; even if I wasn’t forceful with him, I could count on her strong personality to break him down-it was quite the sight to see a small healer hitting a renown general over the head with her staff, might I just say. 

Days began to turn into weeks and weeks to months as we traveled country to country to not only find my brother, but to also quell the seeds of war that attempted to spread. With the new threat of these…otherworldly monsters daring to overrun the continent as well, it was quite the difficult task, however, with Ewan, Saleh, and even L’Arachel, the task of driving these monsters back to whence they came became an easier task next to the fighting. There were many losses that were out of my hands, simply for our timing being too late, like Queen Ismaire of Jehanna…she was such a beautiful woman who seemed like a strong ruler, and it was such a shame that there wasn’t anything my company or I could do to save her, but I felt relieved in a sort of way knowing that she could see her son Joshua once more before her passing, and she became yet another reason to put an end to this cruel war. 

However, there was no time to mourn as the palace was burning around us, and we had to flee once more. It was then that my army became trapped between the two strongest generals of Grado, but thankfully, that was when my brother finally joined us to defeat them. Once the battle was over, the squeezing feeling in my chest became too great to ignore, and I threw myself into my brother’s bloodied arms as I hugged him tightly and sobbed the hardest I have ever since the beginning of this war. I know I always chided my brother to use caution when being affectionate with me as there might be strange rumors that will run about, but in that moment, I finally felt whole and complete knowing the last of my family was with me at last. 

That night, we set up camp outside the outskirts of Renais so that on the morrow we could storm the castle and reclaim our home, if there was anything left. Seeing everyone joined around the fire, eating, laughing, enjoying themselves, for a moment I was swept away with the jubilant atmosphere, feeling relaxed for what seemed like the first time in a year as I laughed and joined in on the fun as well. While I was enjoying myself, I noticed something moving from my peripheral, and a cloaked figure seemed to float deeper into the woods. My eyes scanned the camp and I noticed that Seth wasn’t anywhere to be found-he wasn’t much of a sociable person, but he did often hang around the outer circle just to watch everyone; I liked to think that’s how he found his enjoyment-just watching people. 

That must have been him. 

Instinctively, I followed the figure, careful to keep my distance in case it truly wasn’t him, but following closely enough so I wouldn’t lose sight of him. As I got further away from the light of the camp it became increasingly more difficult to see, but eventually there was a clearing, and I was awed at the meadow that lay before me. With the stars painted out on the night sky above and the moon shining down her gentle glow on the world, it was truly a beautiful sight to behold; I was so entranced with such a sight that I became startled at the sound of my name.

“My lady, if you wish to follow someone, it would be wise for you to remain completely silent.” 

So, it really was Seth. 

I stepped out of the woods into the clearing and approached his side, smiling up at him when he looked down at me. 

“I’m sorry, Seth. I hadn’t realized it was you.” 

A small smile, and I smiled brighter back at him in return. 

“Be that as it may, I will restrain myself from lecturing you on following unfamiliar visuals into the dark of night.” 

I giggled and looked out at the flowers, some of them closed while others stayed open. I walked over to a small bunch that I was too familiar with, kneeled down, and smiled at the fond memories they brought me. When my brother and I were younger I would take these, and make them into crowns for us to wear, and impulsively, that’s what I began to do. I smiled at Seth as he laid down beside me, folding his arms behind his head as he stared up at the sky. His face was always hardened and serious, but right now, I could see that he was relaxed, and I felt just as relaxed as well. 

“My lady, if I may have a word?” He asked, his eyes still fixated upward.

“Of course. What is it?”

“As I have watched over you these many years, I have come to realize just how strong you have become-how much you have had to bear on your shoulders. I often lecture you and your brother how royalty should not be stationed on the front lines, and yet, as you two have always been, you are stubborn, fighting alongside your comrades and thrusting yourselves into harm’s way. It is quite unlike anything that I have ever heard in my lifetime.” 

Listening to him speak was quite soothing, his voice was like a lullaby, one that I cherished deeply. “Is that so bad?” I replied, continuing to weave the stems of the flowers together. 

A hefty sigh. “From a logical standpoint, there is everything wrong with it, however, I have seen firsthand how your will to fight for what you believe in rallies allies to your side. There have been many whispers from the villages of how courageous the royalty of Renais is to have the royal children fighting tirelessly to end this war. In turn, it raises the morale of those around you, granting them a ray of light in this otherwise darkened world, and I believe that is the reason why you have come so far. If it were I making decisions, I would gladly keep you both behind front lines to keep you safe as I have sworn to do, however, I believe you would simply fight my decision and sneak away to fight anyway.”

A smile broke out on my face before I hid it to remain serious around him. Yes, that was true; if my brother and I were ordered against doing something we wanted to do, we snuck away and fulfilled our desires anyway. “The one thing I hate being is useless, Seth. You and my brother have always watched over me, protecting me, ensuring that I am never harmed, but I am anything but a helpless little girl now. I am a Queen of Renais, and for my people, I will do anything I can to guarantee a bright and successful future for my people, and I won’t stop fighting until I can secure it with my own two hands.” I finished tying the last knot and brought the ring of flowers up to the light to check my work, leaning over to place it on Seth’s head as best as I could. “And I would hope that you will be there for us, as you always have been.” 

I smiled brightly at him when he looked over at me, and I was delighted that a smile of his own slowly spread onto his face, but it quickly faded as he regained his composure. “You must exercise great caution in such a situation, my lady. If there were to even be one person watching, it would spread ill rumors about you. If you favor one of your subjects over another, tyranny will be certain.” 

I sighed and sat back on my knees. “Yes, I can see how that would cause an uprising, but…you’re much too important to me, Seth. You may be my knight, yes, but you have been there for my brother and I for as long as we can remember, and you’re family to us, so we would feel lost without you here with us every day. I understand that you worry about our safety when we are fighting, but we also worry about yours as well…! Every injury that is carved onto you…I feel as though it is my fault especially for my inability to efficiently command an army in the absence of my brother…I-I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you…!” I bit my tongue from blurting anything further, but I kept his steady gaze, clenching my hands in my skirt. 

His eyes softened once more and he stood as if to leave, but I was surprised when he kneeled in front of me on one knee, gazing at me with some of the gentlest eyes I have ever seen from him. 

“I had not meant to upset you, my lady. I only wish to guide you in the most logical way possible to safeguard an extensive and powerful rule, however, I often overlook that you are much different than common royalty, and I overlook your personal feelings as well, so I apologize. I will continue to stand by my belief earlier, and I will continue to raise my lance in honor of a knight of Renais, serving my new king and queen.” There was a pause and I tilted my head to the side slightly as he always had his thoughts collected, but I was surprised when he took my hand in his own. “It may be the same bond we feel connected to, or rather, something different from both of our eyes, but I will always remain by your side, and I will always lay down my life for you until I have breathed my last. For you and your brother, my lady, I will only provide this to.”

I felt my chest fluttering and racing as he brought my hand to his mouth to kiss my fingers, and I couldn’t help but giggle. “Thank you, Seth. I know I can always count on you.” 

I reached forward and hugged his neck once more, enjoying the way his arms looped so securely around me. Even though he was the strongest knight I had ever known, I had worried about losing him; I worried that if I hadn’t kept him close to me he would drift far, far away, out of my reach and never to bring him back. There were days when I feared it had already happened since his polite behavior seemed colder than usual, but if anything, I was delighted that it couldn’t further from the truth. Seth was someone I deeply admired and respected, and I was relieved that he would always remain by my side in even my darkest hours. 

Come what may, I will never allow anything to take Seth away from our side.


End file.
